Fire And Snow
by ScarletteDream
Summary: *Previously Hey Jealousy* Alarice is a quiet one, the artist type. When she catches the eye of Mail Jeevas, it brings about undesirable tension and attention. MattxOC
1. Chapter 1

Matt looked over the edge of his GameBoy and smirked mischievously, watching the thin blonde boy furrow his brow and chew the eraser of his pencil. _Always being second must be a pain for you, Mello. _Matt thought with a bit of concern for his friend while he gazed at the small white-haired boy, lazily playing in the corner, surrounded with toy robots and a small train whizzing past every few seconds.

Matt himself had scarcely even thought on the prospect of being "the next L," he left that kind of thing to the talented kids. _What do I know? Video games and assorted electronics. I'm a one-man Geek Squad. _Matt uttered a sigh that was unnoticed to the other Whammy kids in the room even, to his dismay, A who was deeply involved with her sketchpad drawing things that no other being could even imagine. The infamous **they** always say that music tames the beast but Matt was certain that A's drawings could entrance even the most brilliant minds. Another sigh.

_Why can't I have an actual talent?_ Matt mused. _The other kids are brilliant, beautiful, creative, and excel at every single thing that they put themselves to do. I can't do anything your average electrician couldn't figure._ He adjusted his goggles and tugged on the sleeves of his own striped shirt while stealing another gaze at A. She was thin and petite, but one could hardly say frail. She had dark choppy hair that fell in front of her pale green eyes. Her neat little fingers toiled away around the pencil, dragging it along the paper in short quick strokes.

***

Mello looked up from his paper and stifled a laugh. _Is Matt aware that he's staring again?_ He thought, chuckling inwardly. Mello sneered at the girl while fiddling with his rosary. _Gee Matt... She's no model. I mean... You could have any one of these girls, why her?_ Mello did not quite understand his friend's infatuation and while he was right, A was no model, she was truly an interesting character.

Upon occasion, L himself would enjoy her art, studying the creations with his thumb pressed to his thin lips. Her talent was great, no one could deny that. But for some reason, the young blonde gentleman had some sort of resentment for the girl. Possibly due to her presence. When she was in the room, every ounce of his dear friend's attention was devoted to her. Whereas her smile made Matt swoon, it made Mello sick.


	2. Chapter 2

A dragged the eraser across the paper and wiped away the small rubber bits it left behind. She chewed her lip and scrunched her eyes shut, attempting to bring the image in her mind to the paper in her lap. She focused on the boy she saw in her head, so perfect and lifelike, and placed the pencil to the paper, eyes still shut tightly, and went to work. Her strokes were quick and without error, soon her subject was on the paper and flawless as a photograph. She opened her eyes and blushed at the results. She knew the boy on the page.  
Her cheeks flushed as realization set in,_ I-I've drawn Matt... But why?_ She eyed the red-headed boy across the room who was deeply involved in one of many electronic games.

A studied his face with deep interest. His jaw moved slightly, he was chewing the inside of his cheek, causing him to appear rather frustrated; this brought her attention to his lips. Matt had such perfect lips, thin, soft, and the most delicate shade of pink. She tapped her pencil on the side of her face and slumped over, so completely involved in her own musings of the boy that she hadn't noticed the smallest of the group, Near, had come to crouch by her side.

"I believe this is not the variety of puzzle that can be solved by staring, comrade." said the cadaverous young lad whilst intertwining one of his fingers in his ivory hair. A felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she shifted her gaze to her expressionless friend.

She laughed nervously and replied while spinning her pencil between her thin fingers; "Is it really that evident? I thought I was being crafty and inconspicuous…" Near did the closest thing he could to a chuckle, a strangled sound from his throat as something resembling a smile stretched across his face.

"Really Alarice, it is not all that difficult to perceive the focus of your gaze. It is so apparent that even Mello may have recognized it." The white-haired boy spoke with reticence, he rarely showed any hint of human emotion, and it was exactly that which drew A to him so. He was so remarkable, so much thought, so little emotion. A wondered if his brain couldn't bare to function at such a high capacity and send out signals for his body to react to anything, after all, Near was the top student in Wammy's house.

_God I need a chocolate bar…_ Mello fumed. _Every goddamned time that albino fuck is in the room… Ugh, just look at him… All smug with his stupid train and that pack of cards falling out of the pocket of his pristine white pajamas… the fucking guy can't even wear normal clothes like the rest of us… I bet he thinks he's too good for normal clothes. That prick. _

His fists were clenched; his knuckles were white, his nails digging into the palms of his hands. He realized that he wasn't breathing, he closed his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath, the air filled his lungs and a disturbing calm fell upon him. He opened his eyes and saw her; that petite girl, the only thing that could steal Matt's attention away from videogames. He glared.

"What's so great about her anyway, Matt?" Mello scoffed under his breath. He turned to his amorous friend and rolled his eyes. He nudged him; "Anybody home in there?" Matt turned his attention to the blonde boy and stared blankly.

"Wh-what?" he stammered, falling from the trance, his messy red hair falling over his eyes. His eyes were empty and Mello _swore_ there was drool on the side of his mouth. _This has to be stopped._

"I think I'm gonna write her a letter, man." Matt droned, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Mello snapped.

"WHAT!?" he shrieked and grabbed Matt's t-shirt, shaking him violently. "Are you nucking futs!?" Matt remained completely stiff, his vacant gaze still in tact.

"Probably," he replied with a sideways glance at Alarice, "I mean look at her, she's kinda perfect. I don't think I stand a chance… She's probably not into guys like me…" Matt's features transitioned from vacuous to lugubrious, melting Mello's heart slightly.

"I think I can help you…" Mello mumbled. "And if you're gonna get this girl; we're doing things my way. No sissy love notes."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Oh gracious me! I'm terribly sorry for the _extreme_ delay I put on this story, inspiration is lacking in my neck of the woods and I'm juggling multiple projects with school and downtime... I also apologize for the length..Or lack thereof, of this particular chapter, I will attempt to push out more for you all this next go, and sooner, too!_**

A looked over again and like usual, Mello was glowering; his ice blue eyes frosted over her own spring green. Each of them held their gaze for a few moments until the contact was broken by Near, who kneeled between the two and began droning along in monotone. She only half-listened, he didn't notice. His speech was reduced to background noise, joining the prattle of the other orphanage children. "Alarice, you are doing it again."

She was shaken from her thoughts. "I'm sorry…What?"

"You are staring at him again. I highly doubt that ogling will do you any good, friend."

"Oh, I know…" she sighed, pressing her palm to her face. "But what good will anything do for me? I mean just look at him… He's perfect…And I'm just… I'm just here… And I don't even know why! Sure, I'm smart, but I'm no genius. The only thing I'm good at is art and…"

"I believe I can help, Alarice."

"…And—You what?"

"Well, if you will calm yourself down, I think I can assist you in your pursuit of young Matthew."

Matt resisted Mello's unremitting offer of aid to the brink of insanity; a border that Matt was positive his best friend crossed many a times. He sat on his bed, hugging his pillow as the winter eyed blond emptied his closet onto his own bed, varying shades of neutral colors, blacks, grays, and whites stacked nearly to the ceiling, piling up around the bed as well.

"A-ha!" Mello exclaimed, waving a shiny, oversized leather jacket above his head. "I knew it was in here, I just had to dig. Told you so, Mattyboy." Matt looked up from his sack of goose feathers and shook his head.

"There is no way on Earth that I am wearing that thing. It reeks of mothballs; I can smell it from here. I bet that if I had a grandpa, that's what he'd smell like."

Mello snorted and pulled the jacket around himself; "C'mon, Matt," he pleaded. "Leather makes you look dangerous; chicks dig danger." His pale brows danced behind the straw-colored fringe.

Matt slid off the bed. "Alarice isn't a chick, man… She's better than that. She's—she's a lady." He decided.

"Even better!" Mello shouted, throwing his fists in the air. "Chicks dig danger, ladies _need_ it. No one wants to be boring forever. The quiet girls always need a bad guy." He took off the jacket and draped it on his friend's shoulders. "One look at you in this thing, she'll toss aside that sketchbook and wish you had a motorcycle and a sunset."

Matt sighed and stared at his reflection in the mirror.

_I wish I could just write her a letter…_


End file.
